Respire Haiti’s local team is surveying flooded communities, identifying areas hit hardest by Hurricane Melissa, and coordinating relief efforts for families

The rumble of large machinery, whine of chain saws and chopping of machetes echoed through communities across the northern Caribbean on Thursday as they dug out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa and surveyed the damage left behind.

Hurricane Melissa hit Haiti’s West department, killing at least 20 people, including 10 children, and leaving others missing. As of Wednesday, the unofficial death toll was 23 since the storm first began pummeling the country.